The Israel Air Force struck two weapons convoys traveling in Sudan on their way to the Gaza Strip over the past month. According to the reports, denied by the Sudanese armed forces, the planes attacked a convoy of jeeps in eastern Sudan last week killing a number of people. Another strike reportedly took place earlier in the month against a truck near the border with Egypt, and in a third incident a helicopter was reported to have been spotted over an island near Sudan. While Israel has never confirmed nor denied its involvement in any of the air strikes, the Israeli navy has been reported to be operating more frequently in the Red Sea in recent years as part of Israeli efforts to curb Iranian arms smuggling to Hamas and Hezbollah.

The London Sunday Times reported that the Israeli Air Force used Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) to carry out strikes on three Sudanese convoys carrying Iranian missiles destined for Hamas in Gaza. Sources also said that the convoys carried Fajr-3 missiles which have a range of 43 kilometers, capable of reaching Yavneh and Be’er Sheva.

According to “western diplomats”, Israel used Hermes 450 drones to carry out the attack. The planes, which operate out of the Palmachim air force base south of Tel Aviv, can remain in the air for 20 hours and fire two Hellfire missiles at ground targets. Some sources also claimed that Israel used the new Eitan UAV in the attack, which have a wingspan of 85 feet, comparable to that of a Boeing 737, and can remain in the air for 36 hours.

The Israel Air Force (IAF) bombed Iranian-funded weapons convoys in Sudan three times since mid-January, according to foreign news sources. The attacks were in a remote desert area not far from the border with Egypt and in the Red Sea.

Sudan was not aware of the first strike until after the second aerial bombardment, according to the Arabic-language Al Jazeera satellite television network. “We didn’t know about the first attack until after the second one. They were in an area close to the border with Egypt, a remote area, desert, with no towns, no people,” a Sudanese foreign ministry official said.

Israel used unmanned aircraft in a series of attacks on Iranian convoys in Sudan which were attempting to smuggle long-range missiles into the Gaza Strip, according to a report in London’s Sunday Times. The Sunday report quoted Israeli defense forces as saying that the strikes, which were widely reported last week, were carried out by Israeli-made Hermes 450 drones.

The convoys that were hit in Sudan were carrying long-range Fajr 3 rockets, which can reach as far as Tel Aviv, according to defense sources quoted in the report. They were also quoted as saying that the drones were chosen over manned aircraft due to the “slippery” nature of the mobile target.